WHAT I READ IN JULY 2021

Here’s everything I read last month! I definitely leaned towards light summer reading for July. This was a mixed bag– some duds and some real gems.

MUSICAL CHAIRS by Amy Poeppel

3.5/5 Stars

This was kind of a neutral read for me, but I think I am in the minority here. This read a lot like Emma Straub’s novels to me with quirky characters packed with personality. This one takes place mostly in Litchfield, Connecticut with a little bit of New York City thrown in for good measure. The plot was interesting– it’s about the friendship and love interests of older siblings, their adult children, and aging parents. Definitely a take on a “modern family” as they prepare for a wedding at the end of the summer. Sometimes I felt super engaged with the book and other times I just felt like I was trying to get to the next interesting section… Liked, didn’t love.

SUMMERLAND by Elin Hilderbrand

4/5 Stars

I downloaded this as an audiobook to listen to on the way home from Nantucket. I had a seven hour drive ahead of me and I wasn’t loving the other audiobook I was mid-way through so I leaned on my go-to summer novelist: Elin Hilderbrand. This wasn’t my favorite Elin book of all time, but I really enjoyed it– and it definitely helped the drive go by faster!! The book is about the tragic death of a beloved high school student on Nantucket and how her friends and family cope with the loss– with plenty of secrets and skeletons hidden in everyone’s closet.

THE THIRD DOOR by Alex Banayan

3.75/5 Stars

The Third Door is part memoir, part business book about Alex Banayan’s journey of interviewing successful people while he’s a college student. The book documents all the wins and pitfalls of this personal project, with lessons learned scattered throughout. The most interesting part of the book to me was how he hacked the gameshow “The Price Is Right” for the funding for the project! I think I was just too old for the book to totally resonate with me– I believe a late teen/early 20s is probably the target audience.

THE FINAL REVIVAL OF OPAL & NEV by Dawnie Walton

3/5 Stars

So this is the audiobook I had downloaded and just wasn’t feeling. There was SO MUCH hype around this novel and a lot of people said it was like Daisy Jones and the Six because of the writing style and that they’re both about bands. I loved Daisy Jones so I assumed I would love this one too. Honestly…. it was so boring and the journalistic style of the novel fell flat (where it really added to Daisy Jones and the Six). I almost quit reading it completely…. but kept hoping for the plot to pick up! The book does tackle heavier topics like race and gender within the music industry well, but the overall plot just didn’t do it for me.

FINLAY DONOVAN IS KILLING IT by Ellie Cosimand

4/5 Stars

A great, easy to sink your teeth into summer read. It’s funny. There’s romance. A full cast of unforgettable characters. And a mystery to “solve.” The main character is a struggling writer who finds herself entangled in a big mess after she’s mistaken for a hit woman. Don’t pick this up expecting a ton of depth, but if you just want a cute, quirky book that you can’t put down, this is it!

GOLDEN GIRL by Elin Hilderbrand

5/5 Stars

This is Elin Hilderbrand’s latest novel… and I loved it. It has a completely different vibe than her other more typical beach reads. In it, the main character, a famous novelist known for her beach reads based on Nantucket (… sound familiar?), is killed in a hit and run accident while she’s on her morning run one day. The rest of the novel takes place with her looking over her friends and family as the grapple with her loss. There’s the mystery of who hit her, lots of romantic drama, and the secrets of her past to uncover. It sounds like a depressing read, but honestly Elin Hilderbrand somehow keeps things light– and dare I say it, humorous.

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